A Scene of Beauty, a New Song of Hope
by DancersandDreamers
Summary: Seeking to escape the noise of her village festival, young priestess Kagome stumbles into a neighboring forest and meets someone likely to change her world forever.
1. A Scene of Beauty, a New Song of Hope

**Author's Note:** Hi guys! Okay so this story is a few years old and it was written when I was a little younger so please excuse some of the fluff. I originally planned for it to be a full scale chapter story but it's been so long that I forgot most of it (I am human these things happen). So for now since this is the only chapter I bothered to write down it's staying as a one-shot. So without further ado please enjoy this light and fluffy story. **Please remember to review!**

~~ A Scene of Beauty, a New Song of Hope ~~

The noise from the festival slowly died away as Kagome descended from the small hill into the lush forest. _I had to get out of there,_ she thought, _all the noise was just too much!_ She stopped at the edge of the forest checking to see if the surrounding area was safe to tread upon with her spiritual abilities. Not sensing any dangerous life forms she hesitated for a moment unsure of where she should proceed.

She turned right deciding that was a good place to start. _Besides it seems like I haven't had any time to myself in ages._ The path she chose was difficult to walk but she was determined not to turn back.

After a while of walking Kagome noticed an unfamiliar aura permeating the atmosphere; it wasn't threatening but it was very powerful. "I feel like I'm being compelled toward it, but what is it?" Her voice was little more than a whisper as excitement stole over her being. As she began to walk faster brambles clawed at her unhakama and low hanging tree branches scratched at her skin but she was oblivious to this.

She didn't know how long she had been walking but each step brought her closer and closer to her mysterious goal. Anticipation made her impatient and, despite the resistance from the forest, she broke into a jog. On and on the path twisted and turned but she kept going pushing her strong legs toward what she did not know.

Kagome stopped abruptly, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. _There it is…whatever it is, just beyond those trees._ She slowly began to walk again; she was almost there, a few more steps and – "Ahhh!" Kagome tried to regain her balance as her foot hooked around one of the loose tree roots on the forest floor. This only made things worse as she came crashing down into a low bush.

"Ouch!" She cried as she struggled to free herself from the offending shrubbery. "This _whatever it is_ better be worth all this trouble!" With much grunting and cursing she finally tumbled out.

She looked up and the sight before her snatched the breath right out of her chest. The scene was absolutely beautiful. She was in a grassy clearing in the middle of which was a reasonably sized pond so still and clear it reflected the starry night sky and half-moon above. Fireflies floated magically on the surface of the pond adding an otherworldly effect to the scene. Kagome thanked the gods for letting her intrude upon such lovely sight.

The most amazing element of the scene however was what lay beside the pond. Kagome could not believe her eyes as she blinked dreamily a few times trying to preserve this view in her memory, and at the same time convince herself that it was real.

Incandescent silver hair and glowing pale skin, this being radiated raw beauty and power. Had it not been for the demonic aura he emanated she would have thought him to be an angel.

 _Definitely worth the trouble,_ thought Kagome as she stood on slightly trembling legs. She took a step forward and little warning bells went off in her head but she paid them no heed. She knew he was a demon but…

She halted right in front of him watching his still form and for a heart stopping moment she thought he might be dead. She looked more closely and noticed the subtle rise and fall of his chest. Relieved she hesitantly seated herself beside him to survey him closer. Her heart was thumping so hard against her chest that she pressed her hand firmly over her heart in a futile attempt to stifle the sound.

 _Surely he would hear it and wake up and…_ Kagome let the thought drift away not wanting to think about what might happen if he were to wake. She sat there and just gazed at him from his head to his boots, taking in all that was him. She started with his face, it was simply perfect; sculpted as if by the gods themselves, his face wore a calm, peaceful expression that made him even more stunning. His thin eyebrows were relaxed with sleep, in fact every part of his face was relaxed with sleep.

He had strange markings on top of each eyelid of a light maroon color and a small blue half-moon symbol in the middle of his forehead. The last of his marking were two purple stripes that graced his high cheekbones. Kagome's eyes drifted to his nose, long and pert, and drifted lower to rest on his mouth. Kagome knew at once that years from then she would always remember those lips. She knew that she would never find any that she longed to kiss as much as the ones before her.

So delicately full and oh so smooth looking they were; she had never been kissed but she knew had she kissed him it would have been wonderful. Kagome blushed at the thought and decided that thinking of this demon in that way would do her no good so she reluctantly took her eyes away.

Focusing on his sculpted jawline and elegant neck her eyes strayed further down to take in his attire. _Hmm he must be a demon lord,_ thought Kagome as she noticed his fine silk robes with elaborate maroon lotus flowers patterned across the collar of his haori and the bottom of his sleeves.

His hakama were a normal white although they were tucked in a strange fashion into something even stranger. They were not the usual sandals everyone wore but some black material that covered his whole foot. _Must be from the Continent,_ thought Kagome. The rest of him was covered by a strong looking armor with fierce spikes protruding from the breastplate. _I wouldn't want to be in a battle with him,_ she thought as she reached out with her hand and touched the hard grey metal and gasped.

At that moment she realized that she was actually touching him! After thinking for a few seconds, her hand still resting on his armor, she decided to go a bit further. _I mean I am already touching him so…_

Uninterested in any other part of him she went right to his face. She reached out her hand and softly brushed it against his cheek. She sighed softly, his skin was so soft! Soon her hands were all over his face with special attention given to his lips of course.

She leaned back to take in his masculine beauty at a better angle when she realized something near his head. She moved closer to see what looked to be an off white cloud. She rested her hand on it and let out a surprised gasp of pleasure, it was so light and fluffy. It was placed under his head like a pillow and seemed to be somehow connected to his shoulder armor.

 _Could it be a pelt? Yes that must be what it is, but I wonder what kind…_ She moved even closer and pressed her nose into the pelt. She took a deep breath and instantly the earthy smell of dog entered her nose, it was not a bad scent, in fact she liked the smell because it reminded her of the forest and a dog, and something slightly spicy and masculine. _So he must be an Inuyoukai,_ thought Kagome as she lifted back up into her sitting position.

She sat there for what seemed like ages and felt like she could gaze at his face forever without a single regret. After several moments reality caught up with her and she looked at the sky, _oh dear the sky has gotten much darker and even the fireflies have all gone away._ She looked back down at him and sighed, "I must go," she said to the sleeping demon lord as if he could hear her, "but first one last touch."

Her hand went out automatically to his lips; so soft and firm she traced each lip with her thumb wishing to imprint the feeling on her fingers forever. After a moment with great effort she tore away and began to gather herself to leave when she got a sudden idea.

When she looked at his face it looked so peaceful that she wanted to preserve it for as long as she could so she decided to put a barrier over him. She knew he wouldn't need any protection from demons or humans but if she could keep them from waking him up and destroying his peace she would.

"Call it my gift of thanks from me to you for showing me something truly beautiful…something I haven't seen in a long time." Kagome moved back and gathered her power, it really was an easy enough job she had done it so many times before. Letting her powers well up within her she focused the flow of energy toward her hands. Then she let it spill forth from her palms and surround the demon lord. Wave after wave of warm spiritual energy slowly encircled the sleeping demon and covered him in a barrier made with great care.

 _There now he won't be disturbed and when he wakes he can freely leave the barrier._ She touched his face one more time and struck with a sudden impulse she moved closer slowly closing the gap between their faces. As she approached the all too familiar warning bells were going off but once again they fell on deaf ears.

What harm could it do anyway? She had never been kissed and with her line of work she was most likely to never get kissed so why not do it now? _It's not like he will respond or anything, it won't even be a real kiss, but it will be the closest I ever get…_ She was inches away from his face, her heart once again pounding in her ears. Closer and closer, she almost connected when suddenly she felt the atmosphere shift.

Alarmed she looked up to see his eyelids twitching, fluttering and slowly opening. Kagome's breath hitched in her throat and she stayed stock still as his eyelids revealed two beautiful golden suns staring at her ever so glazed over with sleep.

For a brief moment reality slipped away and all that mattered were those mesmerizing amber eyes. She watched entranced as he gazed back at her with an open look of confusion and curiosity that slowly darkened into an icy, stoic stare. Time itself seemed to freeze over for several agonizing seconds but unfortunately once reality slips away it has a tendency to come back in a flash.

Kagome snapped out of her stupor and gasped in shock as she realized the dangers of the position she was in. In a flash, using speed only a miko is capable of, she fled. Into the prickly forest once more and did not stop until she reached the top of the hill that overlooked the village.

She sat there on the hill gazing at the partying villagers. She tried not to think about what might have happened had she not ran away but was failing miserably. Wondering about it would do her no good; it would just drive her crazy because she would never find an answer. She told herself that no matter how she looked at it things would have ended badly but she couldn't help but hope that they wouldn't.

"Perhaps he might smell my scent, track me down and…and – no! I must not think of such things." Kagome chided herself for once again thinking of him. _But how could I not?_ _He had been the first male I had ever touched in such a way and probably my last,_ she thought sadly.

She leaned back to lie on the grass and closed her eyes trying to remember the feel of his skin under her fingertips. She almost laughed when she thought of what a normal girl her age would have thought had she seen the way Kagome reacted to touching the demon. _Probably would think I acted like a five year old girl or something,_ thought Kagome ruefully. But in truth it really was a whole new experience of a whole new world that she had only touched the surface of.

She sighed as she thought of why she knew this would be her last experience. Born a child of her village's shrine she was raised as a priestess and as was the custom of her shrine she was made to swear celibacy and devote her life to her duty, never to marry or even bear children.

During the swearing in ceremony she remembered making a secret promise to herself to go against custom and keep her heart open for her true love to one day find. But lately the little voice of hope in her heart had been harder and harder to hear and the chance that she would find love one day seemed to become smaller with each passing day.

Kagome gave a long drawn out sigh but instead of feeling dejected and miserable she thought back on her time with the demon lord. She thought of the gift he had unknowingly given her of not only granting her the sight of true beauty but also reawakening the voice of hope in her heart.

Now the little voice was stronger and sang with a melodious tune that reminded her that one day she would find love. Kagome breathed in deeply the smell of the fresh grass and the pure wilderness of the forest. She felt at peace and a smile of happiness spread across her face as she remembered a pair of intense golden eyes staring at her. _Yes, perhaps there is still hope._

** Fin**


	2. The Demon

**Author's Note:** Hi there! So when I first published this story I let you all know that I had forgotten most of the original plot line for it. But alas! I have recently been bit by the creative bug and thought of a whole new concept and direction! This chapter is the first of this new direction and hopefully many more to come. **Don't forget to review and let me know what you think!**

~ The Demon ~

Three days had passed since she had stumbled upon that beautiful demon in the forest, and Kagome had no doubt in her mind-that she was losing it. No matter what she tried to focus her mind on her thoughts would always circle back to silver hair and perfect lips…

Kagome shook her head vigorously and attempted once again to focus on the lips that were currently in front of her. On days when the duty fell to her, Kagome was tasked with caring for the sick and injured in the village. As the third highest ranking priestess of the village she was usually stuck with the lighter cases-bumps, scrapes, the occasional laceration.

Today however Jinji, the town relic, hobbled into the medicine hut with one of the most severe cases of poison ivy she had ever seen. He had apparently mistaken the leaves of the vine to be those of a delicious tea he had once tasted in his youth and tried to eat a few as a taste test. Now Kagome was face to face with lips swollen three times their normal size.

 _Certainly nothing like those lips-_ Kagome made a frustrated noise at the back of her throat and pressed the cloth with the soothing salve a little too hard into the elderly man's mouth.

"Oooh!" he groaned in pain causing her to snap back into reality.

"Forgive me Jinji-san, I added a bit too much pressure there," Kagome apologized with a half-hearted chuckle. "I think we're pretty much done here," she said putting the cloth back into the salve.

"Bany thanks Kagobe-saba," said the old man bowing deeply. Kagome bit her lip to keep from laughing at his distorted speech and got to her feet.

"It was nothing, now make sure you have your wife use the ingredients I gave you to make that salve and apply it to your lips three times a day and they should be back to ah-normal size in about two weeks." Kagome walked towards the entrance of the hut and stopped short, "Oh and Jinji-san please do stay away from poison ivy or you may not live to see 101!"

Kagome made her way wearily up the temple steps; today felt like one of the longest days of her life, and it was only an hour past noon. The only thing she wanted now was just a few moments to decompress to herself before she was hurled into the next task of the day.

She grimaced as she thought back on how much of a mess she made while attempting to help the villagers. She dazedly bumped into the pile of firewood she helped the young men gather causing them to roll away down the hill, she couldn't remember which were the medicinal herbs and which were the ones likely to give you gas when she went foraging with the women; not to mention it took her nearly twice as long to tend to all her patients in the medical hut.

 _If I had known the mere memory of that demon would frazzle me like this I would have just left well enough alone,_ she thought ruefully. She was a few steps away from the top when she noticed a pair of small, plump, sandaled feet in her path. Kagome looked up to see Kaede, the head priestess of the temple staring down at her disapprovingly.

"Kaede-sama, forgive me I didn't see you there," Kagome said bowing humbly to her superior.

"Indeed," said Kaede raising her eyebrows, "it seems ye've been wandering around somewhat distracted all morning." Kagome flinched slightly at this, _damn she never misses a beat._

"Who told you I was 'wandering' around distracted Kaede-sama?" she asked trying to keep the rising edge from her voice.

"Some of the villagers came to me and said ye had some trouble with gathering firewood and a few of your patients said ye seemed preoccupied with something," replied Kaede with a piercing look in her eye that dared Kagome to deny the truth. Kagome looked back at the village below and cast it a dirty look, _traitors._

Kaede sighed softly, "they're only worried for ye child, as am I, now tell me is there something on your mind dear?"

Kagome looked wide-eyed at Kaede for a second, grasping for a good excuse. "N-no you know I think I'm just a bit fatigued, just um recovering from the festival and such, she stammered out lamely.

"Hm," Kaede replied suspiciously, "well fatigued or not we cannot have ye going about distracted with the next festival and Rin's ceremony coming up soon we need ye more focused than ever."

"Yes Kaede-sama," Kagome said bowing once more, "I will do my best to stay focused as is my duty," she continued in a more subdued tone.

Kaede searched Kagome's face for a few seconds as if trying to decide something, "even so I think it would benefit ye greatly child if ye were to visit the shrine for some much needed guidance and meditation," she said finally.

"Bu-" Kagome began to protest but stopped short as the look on Kaede's face was one that brooked no disagreement. "Y-yes Kaede-sama I will go to the shrine straight away."

Giving one final bow, Kagome made her way up the last few steps and turned in the direction of Midori's Shrine.

Kagome paused at the front gate of the shrine and took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. As she walked through the worn, wooden archway she tried to summon the calm zen spirit the ancient grounds seemed to exude.

Doing her best to keep her mind blank, she approached the water basin at the foot of the inner shrine steps and began her purifying ablutions. Kagome looked at her reflection in the water's still surface for a moment before slowing dipping her delicate fingers into the cool liquid. Watching as the ripples her fingers created distorted her image, she already felt like less of herself and more like the solemn priestess this place called for.

She passed her wet hands ceremoniously over her face, through her hair, and finally slipping down the nape of her neck and sighed serenely as a cool breeze kissed her moistened skin. She looked passed the shrine steps and into the darkness beyond, _ok I'm ready now._

Kagome smiled slightly as she listened to the nostalgic creaking of the shrine steps she took one by one. Upon entering she removed her sandals and left them on the floor of the entry way and made one final step into the main shrine area.

She immediately began preparing the dim area by lighting candles at each of the four corners of the spacious room and kneeling down to light the incense on either side of the altar. Kagome took a deep breath of the earthy and calming scents of rosemary and sage and settled herself on her knees.

Reaching into her right sleeve she took out her offering of ripe persimmons and placed them on the golden plate at the foot of the altar and prostrated herself to pay her respects.

Rising from her bow Kagome raised her gaze to the statue of the goddess Midori that was placed on the altar. She sat in silent awe of her likeness masterfully wrought in iron, gold and jade. She was positioned standing, her body made mostly of iron, while the eyes, necklace and prayer beads held in her right hand were made of jade. In her left hand she held a staff with a speared tip made of gold; the two objects in her hands were made to symbolize strength and healing.

Midori was the patron goddess of women and spirituality; a solemn being who devotes herself to the service of others. Her core attributes are healing, spiritual strength, and immeasurable purity. Great mikos looked to the goddess for inner strength and guidance.

The warrior priestess Midoriko devoted herself to the goddess to such an extent that she renamed herself after the deity and created this temple in homage to her. As her spiritual prowess grew to be renown throughout Japan, young women flocked to her temple to be trained under her tutelage. As the temple grew in popularity, so did its guiding principles of purity and chastity in order to gain the true powers of Midori.

It is now required of a novice miko to make a vow of abstinence during her swearing in ceremony to become a full fledged priestess. Kagome shifted uncomfortably at the thought but she could not deny the truth of the incredible tales of the priestess Midoriko and her untold abilities at vanquishing hordes of powerful demons and healing those within mere inches of death. She devoted herself to celibacy, never marrying or even harboring a secret love as far as she knew; and look how amazing her legacy was!

Kagome thought back on the many paintings and tapestries littered throughout the temple depicting the strong and beautiful miko wielding various weapons and spiritual objects of legend, in the midst of battle or emitting an immense purifying aura; she always looked so sure of herself, unwavering in her duties and her ability to fulfill them.

She was everything Kagome wanted to be herself, or at least she thought so until her very own swearing in ceremony. Ever since she had made the secret vow to keep her heart open to love, the hope that she would one day find it became dimmer and dimmer with each passing day of her training as a priestess. That is until she met the demon lord.

And although she felt her hope replenish after the encounter, she no longer knew what she should be striving toward anymore. How could she continue down the path of becoming a great priestess when she knew her silent vow would keep her from ever reaching it? And how could she keep the flame of hope alive in her heart when she continued to devote herself to a life without love?

Feeling trapped in this liminal abyss, Kagome raised her gaze once more at the statue and said beseechingly, "Midori-sama please show me the way, help me see clearly the path of my fate and bless me to accept it. I want to do right by you but each time I have tried these past few days I keep picturing...him"

At the mention of the demon lord, images of him began to swim before her eyes. She shut them in a feeble attempt to to keep them at bay but the most powerful image came to the forefront of her mind's eye; his sleeping face...and those gently parted perfectly shaped lips…

As if sensing the lost mental battle, a deep blush crept over Kagome's face and she lifted her right hand to her cheek as if to stop it from spreading. _I just keep picturing those damnable lips and how it would feel to touch them_ , she slowly opened her eyes and finally let her mind wander.

She went back to that night and pictured what it would be like to not have been interrupted by him waking, to inch ever closer, and closer to the soft promise of bliss until she brushed his lips with her own in the most delicate of kisses.

Kagome sighed softly and dragged her pinky across her parted lips, mimicking the touch she longed for. Her eyes became glassy brown orbs as her fantasy took her far away.

Suddenly she felt something prickling at her senses, startled, she jumped slightly and began to blink rapidly. The fog of her mind receding.

Kagome shivered and looked around the shrine guiltily. She felt as if the very eyes of Midori were boring into her, judging her silently. She turned her head sharply as she heard the distant thumping of running feet approaching.

Kagome stood and straightened herself just in time to see one of the novice mikos flying up the steps. She skidded to a halt at the shrine entrance, eyes bulbous and frantic, and without missing a beat yelled, "Kagome-sama a powerful demon has been spotted in the village!"

Kagome froze. It couldn't be-

** **I am particularly happy with how this chapter turned out, especially because I started it with only the vaguest outline for what I wanted to happen. I love to see how good inspiration can fill in the blanks! Please remember to review!**


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